


To be the last.

by Demon_Cookie101



Series: Tumblr ficlets [2]
Category: Homestuck
Genre: Character Death
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-10-17
Updated: 2015-10-17
Packaged: 2018-04-26 18:39:08
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,475
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5015803
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Demon_Cookie101/pseuds/Demon_Cookie101
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>These halls hold friends.</p>
            </blockquote>





	To be the last.

He knew it wouldn’t be easy. Nothing for them was ever easy. But he did not expect it to go like this.

For what seemed like ages he walked the steel halls, hands out and ready in front of him and his feet barely making a noise as he searched. He had passed Vriska not too long ago, crouching by a bloodstained wall and shaking with wide eyes. He had said nothing, just sat with her until her hands gripped firm to a stained handle and she pushed herself up and started walking down the way he came and he continued on.

Feferi had told them all what happened. Something had gone wrong somewhere, and now the horrorterrors were a lot more real than before and they brought with them countless of trolls. Well, some were more rotting staggering corpses that stank and needed a lot of power just to finish off than actual trolls. But there were some, the ones that looked like they had been highbloods, or at the least cerulean, when they’d been alive that walked with a purpose and attacked with terrifying accuracy. Those he tried to avoid.

He’d only seen one since he passed Vriska, and that one merely glanced at him and carried on. Either it didn’t see him or it was looking for someone.

A body further down gave him an idea as to who.

Sollux crouched, examining the body without touching it. It, thankfully, wasn’t someone he knew. There weren’t any other marks on it aside from the hole in the chest and a few stab marks on the upper chest.  
He kept walking.

There had to be something down these halls right? Unless everyone had done a good job at demolishing the horrorterrors and stepping the stream of appearing enemies.  
He hadn’t even seen any of his friends for fucks sake.  
He couldn’t hear them though. That had to be a plus. It meant they weren’t in any danger of dying any time soon.

Sollux slowed as he heard something up ahead, a wet sucking sound and a sharp intake of breath as something thudded to the floor. The room was dark as pitch as he peeked in, narrowing his eyes slightly to try and hide the glow. It looked like there was something lying in the middle of the room and he inched his way inside for a better look. There was another noise and he froze, ready to bolt out and into the surreal safety of the lit hallways. He was a fucking kid for Christs sake. He didn’t want to deal with this, no way. He just wanted to go back to when it was safe and he could be on his husktop until he crashed in his chair and annoy Karkat and hang with Feferi or Aradia. Anywhere but here.

The noise stopped, but now he was aware of every other one. The panicked soft pants of his own breath and the shaky, raspy sounds coming from the far corner.

Hallway it is then.

“… Hey Sol.”

What. Sollux stepped further in, his eyes widening in surprise and now the darkness was being slowly beaten back by the red and blue glow.

“Eridan?”

“Yeah. I’m ower h-ere.” His voice cracked slightly and Sollux felt his way along the wall towards his voice. “Are you okay? Hawe you seen anyone else?”

“Yeah, I’m okay. Well I’m not hurt at leatht. My mental health though, can’t be too thure.” Sollux sat down beside him, letting the eyeshine intensify until he could clearly make out Eridan. “I thaw Vrithka a while ago, but not really anyone elthe.” He doesn’t look too good.

“I hawen’t s-seen anyone either.” He reached out and touched his face, squinting and leaning closer to look at him. His knee brushed against something sharp and wet and he cursed, twitching away even as Eridan choked out a strangled sound and his body lurched.

“ED?”

“I-It’s okay. It’s gonna…. Gonna be okay. It’s gotta be okay.”

“Eridan what… I don’t... Eridan what the fuck ith wrong with you.” He fumbled slightly with his psionics, feeling along the wall for a damn fucking light switch why the _fuck_ is it so dark.

There. He flipped it on and _stared_.   
Eridan gave a dry little hiccupping laugh. “I missed.”   
The sharp wet thing was the other end of a blade. A blade that had apparently been snapped off at the handle. A blade right through his fucking stomach.

A ringed hand on his face and then he was forced to look up. He was so _pale_. There were faint violet trails down his cheeks and there was blood coming from his nose and the corner of his mouth.

“We… It can be… you’re gonna be okay, right? ED? Fuck fuck I can… I can get you to FF or Kanaya.” A hand on his cheek now and a weak tap.

“Shut up Sollux.”

“No I’m not gonna fucking shut up! You can’t die!”

A grin. A fucking grin that spoke volumes. He’d been here too long. Sitting alone and bleeding out on the floor of a darkened room with no way of knowing if anyone else was even alive.

“It’s fine.”

“It ith not fucking FINE!”

Another pap and his hand slipped and Sollux instantly grabbed it.

Eridan was the one of the strongest. He was a goddamn fucking highblood. He couldn’t just die they still needed him.

The seadweller in front of him moved with a pained grunt, his other hand on the floor in his own blood as he pushed and tried to move, despite his protests. He realised what he was trying to do and moved, careful of the puddle of blood as he settled against the back wall and shuffled Eridan closer to him. His hand ended up in his hair as he let him lean against him.

“I’m thorry I didn’t get here thooner.”

Eridan scoffed, reaching back to poke him in the face. “Don’t be you idiot. You had no wway of knowwin’ wwhat’d happened so just shut up and-” He started coughing, his hand coming up over his stomach as his chest jerked and his breaths caught and caused his gills to flutter desperately for air.

He couldn’t do anything. Just hold him and wait for him to fucking die. This is what helplessness feels like. He swore he’d never feel it again, never. But now it was swamping him as he sat on the floor of a room holding a dying seadweller as demons prowled the halls.

“Don’t leawe me.” A small voice, a small pleading voice coming from the one troll he’d never expect to hear it from. “Don’t leawe me here alone. Please.”

“I won’t. I’m not. I’ll… I’ll thtay here to look after your platonically pathetic ath, okay?” His attempt at the usual normalcy between them fell faster than a lead balloon and even he cringed.

Eridan laughed though, and wriggled around slightly so he could look up at him without stabbing him with his horns. “Lucky it wwas me though… right? N-Not any a the others?”  
“The fuck maketh you thay that?” Sollux just stared down at him incredulously. ‘ _You don’t really need me. Seriously, all I was good for was as a marksman-‘_  
“You don’t really need me. Seriously, all I was good for wwas as a marksman, an’ ewen then there wwasn’t much for me to shoot in the game ‘sides from my freaky ass useless consorts an’-”  
“Eridan. Shut up.”  
“Shuttin’ up.”

It was quiet for a while, Sollux alternating between watching the doorway and looking down at him. His panic sparked as he felt Eridan sag even more, ringed fingers weakly clutching at his own as he looked up at him. His lip was trembling and his eyes were wide in fear. _‘Sol?’_

“Sol?”  
“Yeah.”  
“D’ya think my ancestor wwoulda been proud’a me?”  
For a few moments he didn’t know what to say. He simply petted two-tone hair and managed a smile, “yeah. Reckon you would’ve made him really proud.”  
Eridan returned his smile, a single tear tracing a new pattern down his cheek. “Do you really think so?”  
“Of course athhole. Your anthethtor’d be a real dick if he didn’t think tho. And I know all about being a dick, tho I would know.”  
“Okay. That’s good. I only… only ewer wwanted t’ make him proud… make any… anyone proud…”  
“You would’ve made him proud ED, I promithe.”   
He didn’t realise that the hand holding his was limp. He didn’t realise that he was the one gripping it now.   
“Hey, ED...”   
He gave the body a little shake.  
“ _Eridan._ ”  
Nothing.  
“Don’t… No. Athhole wake up. You’re not allowed to die yet. _Eridan come on!_ ”   
A blank stare and tearstained black glasses were his only response.  
“Don’t leave me.”


End file.
